Jesus would

say, "If the son of man sets you free, you shall be free indeed."

Jesus, more than any religious figure of his day, before, and since, encouraged

his followers to embrace freedom as a joy of the faith. He wanted his

followers to make decisions on their own, informed by God's will, but

not bullied into God's will. There's a difference.

Recently I

received an actual letter (as opposed to e-mail) in which a member of

our church said, "I grew up in a church that dealt more with judgment

and prosperity than anything else." She said that in the last year

or so she had come to realize, however, that "you cannot understand

God's judgment until you understand God's love." Because of discovering

God's great love in the context of his freedom, she now wakes up every

morning to "look for the exciting things God wants me to do with

my life."

This young

lady certainly does my heart good as I hear that another somebody has

got a hold of living within the freedom, joy, excitement, and love of

Christ. But there are religious spirits out there in the great beyond

spirits that seek to bind, enslave, cripple, and make people dependent

upon them. These spirits even are found in some respected churches.

First, there

is the prosperity spirit. This spirit demands that one become financially

prosperous in order to prove godliness. Did not Jesus say that it was

easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man

to get into heaven? Did not Jesus say, "Blessed are the poor?"

When faith is fatally flawed with finances, that's bondage. My mother

was a scholar of the Bible compared to my pitiful status as a student.

Never once did my mama think or teach her children that being in God's

will meant economic prosperity. She taught us that being in God's will

meant telling the truth, hard work, and going to church.

Please don't

get me wrong. Compared to my counterparts in East Africa, I am rich. I

am a sultan of cash. And Americans, when compared to most of the world's

population, are very rich. And I don't think wealth is a sign of unrighteousness.

Many people are wealthy because their parents were wealthy or because

they worked hard in a lucrative profession or they just played the stock

market right. J. C. Penney was very wealthy. But at the end of his life,

he was giving 90 percent of his income to charity and living on 10 percent.

He certainly is a model for the real rich. I go along with the late singer

Pearl Bailey, "I have been rich and I have been poor. Rich is better."

Second, there

is the pious spirit. This spirit makes one into a self-righteous hypocrite.

When these folks open their mouths, they pious all over you. They talk

and act like they never had a bad thought or did a bad deed in their lives.

You would not dare spill your guts with this religious jerk. If you did,

they would immediately consign you to hell and write you off their social

calendar. Jesus had his strongest word for these folks. He could never

come up with any kind words for them. He said they try to put others in

the same bondage they experience.

Oh yes, there

are churches with this pious spirit. They love Bible studies. They hate

Bible application. They are long on prayer but short on social action.

Their Sunday services are sterile, void of any hint of the dangers, toils

and snares of life.

Reality check.

No, better yet, spirituality check: does your faith keep you free or bind

you up?

John

Hatcher is pastor of

Outreach International

Center

1091 South Jeff Davis

Drive

Fayetteville, Georgia

30215

770-719-0303

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